MBA or Master’s in Business Administration is one of the top degrees that a student can attain as it opens up a world of possibilities for him in the business world be it working in top corporate houses or running a business of his own. Here we are going to draw a comparison between MBA in North America vs MBA in Europe as North America (comprising of USA and Canada) and Europe have most of the internationally acclaimed and ranked universities and colleges that offer courses to attain the degree. However, it is always advisable that a student should analyze his career goals, future prospects and then choose a college which suits his individual profile best, no matter where in the world it is.
Let us compare MBA in North America with MBA in Europe
It was Harvard University that started the first MBA degree programmes in the year 1908 in USA while France took 49 years to follow the suit and start INSEAD which offered the same programme to students.
Exposure and experience
With the colleges and universities in North America being larger, they take on almost 300 full-time MBA students while in Europe; the number doesn’t even touch 150. This allows a student studying in North America to get much more global experience and exposure as he is able to interact with more students, understand their skills and interest and learn things he had not known. If you are studying in Europe, you will get exposure but on a smaller scale. Also, a North American MBA programme runs for 2 years while a European one is shorter as most of them run for a single year.
Faculty members
Statistics reveal that European schools have a much higher percentage of non-national faculty members as compared to the schools in North America. Some of Europe’s top-ranked business schools such as INSEAD and London Business School have almost 90 percent of foreign national faculty members. In North America this number reaches a maximum of 35 to 40 percent. A similar trend has been seen in non-national students with Europe boasting off far more international students than the other side of the Atlantic.
Different career ambitions
The business culture that is represented by North American schools is quite different from that of the European ones. It has been seen that a wide range of personality types get attracted to the European schools which aim towards consultancy and not entrepreneurship. North America on the other hand attracts highly ambitious, engaged and competitive students who have the ability to excel in a pressurized environment and aim to secure high-profile jobs in large institutions or become entrepreneurs. Choosing your MBA destination must depend on your future goals and how you wish to shape your career once your MBA is complete.
Accreditations
Being independent and comprehensive reviews of the MBA teaching programs quality, accreditations are often compiled in rankings. Such an accreditation is given to a MBA course only after it is reviewed and is valid for a few years only. In order to renew it, another review must be done once the time period is over. An MBA college which is accredited is sure to offer high teaching quality standards and keeps up-to-date with the latest technologies and advancements. North America is known to have more accredited MBA schools than Europe and it is suggested that one must check the accreditation of a university before enrolling in it.
Though the teaching style, business culture, environment and content is varied in MBA programmes on either side of the Atlantic; both offer world-class and internationally ranked universities which have been known to give the world most of the top corporate leaders and businessmen.
